26 moments
by LouphiaTheHobbit
Summary: 26 moments during Lanie's pregnancy. Can be read as a sequel to "Just a bit of nauseas". Moments do not occur in a chronological order. Pairing is Lanie/Esposito, Rating just to be safe
1. Accident

Hey there!

This can be regarded as a sequel to "Just a bit of nausea". This story will feature 26 chapter, one for each letter of the alphabet..

I'll be writing 26 moments about the time Lanie's pregnant but they won't appear chronologically.

Enjoy, feel free to suggest anything and don't forget to review!

* * *

**Accident**

Kate hated fate for forcing her to make the call. It had been a perfectly normal Saturday morning call duty day, apart from Ryan calling in sick, begging Esposito to go to work although he was not on call duty every second weekend because Lanie was due in four weeks and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, watching out for her.

But in a matter of minutes the average Saturday morning had turned into a horrible mess.

They were inspecting a crime scene when Castle suddenly looked worried and murmured "Suspect's still here, in the shop around opposite form us, got a gun" into her ear.

Kate got Esposito's attention and they carefully made their way towards the drugstore.

Neither of them had expected the sudden movement but before they even realized that their suspect had drawn the gun and fired two blind shots at the two cops and Castle.

The first shot missed, the second hit Esposito in the right shoulder.

Kate was torn between looking after her fellow detective and chasing the suspect.

She realised that he was about to shoot again but no bullet came out of the gun, the guy looked panicky and Castle was after him a split second later.

Kate knew he would get the guy.

She kneeled down at Esposito's side, hating his pained expression. There was so much blood, his jacket was already soaked.

"He's loosing too much blood" she cried while frantically pressing her hands to the wound.

His eyes flattered open and for a moment Kate allowed herself to be relieved. It was, after all, a good sign.

"Call Lanie" he whispered, before closing his eyes again.

"Esposito, open your eyes" Kate ordered, but it came out as a plea.

"Esposito, open your eyes, please... You can't leave Lanie..." she tried to persuade him but got no reaction.

Moments later an ambulance arrived, lifting him into the vehicle.

Kate was starring at the departing car, hopelessly whispering "Don't you dare leaving her and the child".

She turned around, saw that Castle really got the guy and sighted. She had toll call Lanie. Better get over with it now, she though.

"Lanie?"

"Kate is that you? Is something wrong?" Lanie sounded worried. Kate never called during her shift.

"It's Esposito" Kate said, desperately trying to keep her voice calm.

"What is it, Kate?" She could her the tremble in her best friend's voice.

"He's been shot"

A sharp intake of breath was the answer.

Lanie felt sick. She felt like her world came crushing down on her. This couldn't be happening... She felt tears burning in her eyes when she started talking.

"Is he..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"No. They took him to the hospital"

"Can you take me there?" Lanie chocked out, tears now running down her cheeks.

"I'll be there in five" Kate said and ended that call.

She would never in her whole live forgive herself when her best friend's husband and father to her unborn child died during their shift. Never.

When Kate arrived at her friends' apartment, Lanie was already waiting outside, searching for Kate. On hand was wiping away tears, the other was resting protectively on her stomach.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the hospital, Kate nervous and scared as hell and Lanie looking terribly sick and somewhat broken.

They didn't need to look for the information desk, Castle was already sitting in a chair, waiting for them.

When Lanie sat down next to him, he gave her a sympathic hug, which caused only more tears.

"Any news?" Kate asked gently.

Castle shook his head but at the exact time a nurse made their way towards them.

All three of them shot up, searching the nurse's face for a hint of hope or... neither of them allowed themselves to think about it.

"Are you here for Javier Esposito?" the nurse asked.

Lanie nodded and both, Kate and Castle said "yes".

"He's stable now, though he lost a lot of blood"

Kate wrapped an arm around Lanie who was crying harder now.

"But he'll make it. Seems like he's got a lot to live for. You can see him now" the nurse finished.

They followed her, Kate still supporting Lanie, Castle a few steps behind the two women.

The nurse came to a halt in front of his room.

"He should be asleep now but I think he might wake up in a few minutes"

Lanie didn't react at all, without another word she entered the room and sunk down on his bed. She took one of his hands and stroked it gently with her other hand.

"Don't leave me" she whispered, knowing that Kate and Castle were waiting outside the room.

She blinked away fresh tears and placed his hand onto her stomach.

"Don't leave us"

She felt the baby kicking inside her and despite the situation she smiled a small smile.

Mere seconds after the kick Javier opened his eyes, looking at her groggily.

"It kicked you, cariñio" he murmured, breaking into a smile.

* * *

Next will be… B =) don't forget to review, please. Reviews are the cure for everthing…


	2. Blessing or Bomb

Chapter 2 is up… don't forget to review, I know you secretly wanna make my day ;)

Enjoy reading and remember- the more reviews I get the sooner you get the next chapter =)

PS: Sorry for the awful grammar in the previous chapter, I posted it at like 2:15 in the friggin' morning and I had to get up at 7:30 am today -.-

* * *

**Blessing/ Bomb**

Never in her whole life had Lanie been nervous like this. In about half an hour her parents and Javier's parents were going to come around for dinner. It was not like they never met each other before, they had on quite a few occasions but today wasn't just a casual dinner.

It was two weeks after the couple found out about Lanie's pregnancy and they knew it was time to spread the news, considering she was already two moths along and in a couple of weeks it would be showing…

She was glancing at her watch, praying Javier would make is home on time. Two hours ago Ryan had called about new lead in a case and he had to go to the precinct. Though he promised to be back at 6:30 pm. Problem was, it was already past half past six.

Without much enthusiasm she started preparing dinner, hoping she'd make it through the evening without the always-returning nausea. It was getting worse in the mornings and now she also felt sick when she smelled food. Unfortunately this occurred totally random and was unpredictable so she no clue what to avoid- apart from coffee.

She hated not being able to drink coffee without feeling sick.

When she finally heard the keys turning she sighted with relieve. Thank god, at least cooking wouldn't be so boring now that he was home.

A moment later he was standing in the doorway, smiling broadly at her.

"Hey" he said softly.

"Hey to you too" she replied, wiping her hands on a towel.

He went over to her and kissed her before kneeling down, burring his face in her stomach.

She heard him say a muffled "Hey there" and smiled.

A short while later they had set the table and were waiting for their parents to arrive.

When the doorbell finally rang they both jumped from the sound, hurrying to open the door.

After hugs and a few friendly "How are you're" were exchanged, Lanie's mother asked for a cold place to put the dessert she had prepared. Lanie gestured towards the refrigerator in the kitchen and soon the party of six was sitting at the table, enjoying their dinner.

At some point Javier offered their parents a glass of wine and Lanie almost panicked when both her mother and his mother shot her a short but intense glance when they noticed she didn't have a wineglass in front of her.

She got up and walked into the kitchen in order to get another bottle of cooled water from the refrigerator. As soon as she was alone she allowed the smile she had been wearing all night long to slip. They were half through dinner, she knew they'd have to tell them soon but she still wasn't happy about it.

Too well did she remember her parent's reaction when she told them she was planning to move in with Javier one and a half year ago. They hadn't been pleased but they accepted her decision. It was not like they didn't like him it was just that they had only been dating for six months when they decided to take their relationship to another level.

Without thinking about the dessert her mother had prepared Lanie opened the refrigerator and was about to take out a bottle of water when the faint smell of coffee hit her.

As soon as she had smelled it the nausea hit her. Covering her nose and her mouth with one hand she peered under the lit of the bowl and cursed fate.

_Tiramisu. Somehow this was bound to happen. Shit._

She let the lit down and closed the door. Hell, the coffee-thing was annoying the crap out of her and she desperately tried to focus on the bottle of water in her hand. Yet she couldn't control it. The smell was still lingering and the nausea was building.

The bottle slipped out of her hand when she heard someone coming into the kitchen.

She silently prayed it was Javier.

"Lanie?"

Thank god it was him.

She turned around slowly, facing him with a faint smile.

"We got a bit of a problem" she forced out, one hand shooting up to her mouth.

In a matter of seconds he was at her side.

"Are you okay, cariñio?" he asked worriedly.

She shook her head. Pointing at the refrigerator she chocked "Tiramisu" before she hurried past him towards the sink. She felt his hand on her back and was relieved that he came looking for her.

Just when he handed her a glass of water her mother showed up at the door.

"Is everything alright? Lanie, are you ill?"

"Yeah mum, don't you see that" Lanie snapped. She saw the confused look on her mother's face but didn't comment on it, though she felt Javier tense behind her.

"I… can I do something for you?"

_Great, his mother just joined hers. Perfect. Totally what she needed right now._

"No, it's fine. Go back to the table, we'll be with you in a minute" Javier said calmly.

She loved him. Very much. But right at this moment she loved him even more for keeping calm and handling the situation so well, especially considering that she nearly freaked out.

When their mothers made their way out of the kitchen Javier wrapped her in his arms.

"We should probably reconsider telling them after dessert" he stated. He could hear her release a faint laugh and felt her nodding against his chest.

"Okay, we might as well get over with it now" Lanie said, knowing she sounded rather fearful.

His kissed her forehead, let his hands slip from her shoulders to her hands and he looked at her, a loving smile playing on his lips.

"We can do this." He was surprised how calm he sounded as he felt anything but calm.

"What if… they don't give their blessing?" Lanie suddenly asked.

"Well, then… they don't. But they will."

She nodded again and let go off one of his hands. Taking a deep breath they entered the living room, preparing to drop the bomb.

When they entered the room, Javier felt Lanie's grip tighten around his hand and knowing that she was as nervous as him was oddly comforting.

He cleared his throat unnecessarily, as four sets of eyes were already focused on them.

"We got … something to tell you" he announced, feeling Lanie's grip on his hand tighten even more he looked at her, smiling encouraging. She bit her lip, inhaled deeply and forced herself to look their parents.

_Oh screw it, _she thought.

"We're pregnant" she finally said.

They both thought they're parents wouldn't take it well. Expecting a child without being married might not be unusual these days but they were pretty sure their parents would at least voice their concern.

Therefore they were far too surprised to respond when Javier's mother finally got up and wrapped the couple into one of her bone-crushing hugs.

After the ice was broken the others didn't remain at the table and hugged and congratulated the couple as well.

Hours later they fell into their bed, Javier spooning her from behind, one arm wrapped around her protectively. They both were more exhausted than after the last really hard case they both had been working on (and that meant a lot- three days with almost no sleep) but knowing that everything was going to work out fine was worth it.

At least they had they're parents blessing.

And they'd always have each other.

"I love you, cariñio" he murmured into her hair.

Getting to no reply he smiled. He loved it when she fell asleep in his arms in a matter of seconds.

* * *

Oh shoot, I totally forgot the disclaimer: I obviously own Castle… NOT :(

PS: i couldn't decided on the name for the chapter xD


	3. Contractions

Oooooooookay, chapter three is finally up. I'm sorry it's so short but I'm kinda sick at the moment and can't really concentrate on writing long stuff. So I hope you'll forgive me, especially cause I planned to write another chapter today =)

Enjoy reading and please, don't forget to review!

* * *

**Contractions**

Lanie woke up from a faint pain in her abdomen. She didn't think much of it until the pain returned about an hour later, this time a bit stronger and a bit longer.

She got up slowly, making her way into the kitchen. Eight months and three weeks pregnant she wasn't really one to move fast but the pain was coming back now.

She made herself a cup of tea in order to make the warmth sooth her tummy but when it didn't help she got up from the coach and stepped into the shower.

After a long, hot shower, the pains were still coming back in waves and when it felt like something inside her was being torn apart she was pretty sure what the pain was.

Contractions.

Great. Javier wasn't home and she was having contractions. Perfect timing. Awesome timing.

She couldn't help panicking a little.

Today was his first day at the precinct after being shot three weeks ago and he was facing paperwork and if he got lucky, investigations.

He felt a bit uneasy about leaving Lanie home alone but she had assured him she'd be fine and she'd call if she needed something or something was wrong.

So when his mobile started ringing about two hours after he left and the caller ID said Lanie he knew something was up. However, it took him a bit by surprise.

"Javier?" not good, she sounded a bit panicky.

"Lanie? Are you okay? Is something wrong with the baby?"

_Please let them be okay_

"Javier, I think the baby's coming"

She definitely is panicking right now.

"I… oh my god, I'm on my way home" he said, getting up, grabbing his coat, storming out of the bullpen. He saw the puzzled glances everyone was shooting at him but he could deal with them later.

A mere second later he was back at the precinct, motioning for Ryan to come with him.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at his partner, shrugged and followed.

"Lanie? You still there?"

He heard her taking a sharp breath.

"Yeah… can you hurry up?" she pleaded.

"I'll be home in five. Can you call an ambulance? I can't drive…"

Fantastic timing…

"Okay."

"Everything's going to be fine, cariñio" he tried to sooth her, not really knowing how he actually managed to sound calm when he felt like he was being thrown out of an aeroplane.

"Yeah, I can do that"

He couldn't help but feeling a bit proud when he heard how much she was trying to get a grip.

"Good. I'll hang up now, Ryan is driving, okay?"

He heard her laugh lightly, feeling incredibly relieved.

"You better watch out then" she teased.

"Sure, will do. I love you"

"Love you too"

As soon as he ended the call he turned to Ryan who was walking next to him.

"You going to tell me what that was all about, bro?" Ryan asked, slightly uncertain about what to expect when he saw his partners shaken expression.

Javier nodded. "Lanie called. The baby decided to make an early appearance"

"We better abuse the police siren then, bro" Ryan answered with a grin.


	4. Daddy

Hey there!

Another nice little chapter of Lanie/Esposito ;) I hope you like it and- please- don't forget to review! =)

Any suggestions for "E"? I could really need some help there.

Sooo, read, review and, of course, enjoy!

* * *

**Daddy**

Javier was starring at the case file and simply couldn't bring himself to really read it. Too many things were drifting through his head, the case barely among them.

Today they had been investigating the murder of a young mother and they'd been canvassing a handful of playgrounds and every time he heard a child call "Daddy" he couldn't help but smile.

In a few months, someone would be calling him daddy too. And a fairly big part of him couldn't really wait for that moment. Or the moment when Lanie wouldn't be just "Lanie", "Doc" or "cariñio", but "Mummy".

The whole situation hadn't exactly been put at ease by the fact that he and Lanie still hadn't told their collegues about the pregancy but Javier had been pretty sure that his colleagues were oblivious to where his thoughts had constantly been wandering off to. But at some point, he had caught Castle looking at him with an odd expression of goodwill on his face. As soon as Castle noticed that Javier caught him, he had grinned at him and continued bickering with Beckett but somehow it wouldn't leave Javier's mind.

He couldn't get rid of the strange feeling that somehow, Castle was not as oblivious to the pregnancy as he should be and when a cup of steaming hot coffee was placed onto his table he almost jumped from surprise.

He looked up, only to find Castle studying his face.

What was he up to?

Javier noticed how Castle scanned the room and when he noticed no one was there took Ryan's chair and pulled it towards him so he could sit next to Javier.

Castle sat down and took a sip of his own cup of coffee. Javier took his cup as well and smiled at Castle.

"Thanks for the coffee, bro" he said, taking a sip.

"You're welcome, daddy" Castle replied, voice low, the smirk clearly visible.

Javier spit the coffee back into the cup and started coughing violently.

"What?"

Castle leaned closer to his utterly surprised looking friend.

"You really think I didn't notice?"

All Javier could do was shakes his head in total bewilderment.

"How…?"

"Today, on the playgrounds… the way you tried not to smile every time a child called for their daddy, how Lanie sometimes rests a hand on her stomach, the times she suddenly disappears from a crime scene and returns looking a little pale and shaken, not to mention that she stopped drinking coffee and the times you see Lanie and your eyes light up… I mean, more than usual" the last bit was added with Castle's trademark grin.

Javier was speechless. Castle obviously wasn't blind. Anything but blind, it seemed.

"You think the others know?" he asked cautiously.

Castle shook his head. "You know Ryan, you could write it on his desk and he wouldn't see it an Beckett… she might be suspecting something but I mean, Lanie's her best friend…"

Javier nodded, still not sure what to think of it.

"So, it's true then?" Castle asked, the odd goodwill from early back in his eyes.

"Yeah" He couldn't stop the grin forming on his face, the happiness was, again, overwhelming.

Castle squeezes his shoulder.

"Congratulations, Detective" he said sincerely.

"Thanks…but… you won't tell the others, right?"

Castle nodded.

They returned to drinking their coffee, both grinning widely, Castle obviously deep in thought and Javier pretending to read the report.

They were both torn from their daydreams by Ryan's lightly confused but highly amused voice.

"What was in your coffee that made you both grin like the Cheshire cat?"

Javier and Castle looked up at Ryan, shrugged and continued what they did before. Ryan shook his head and started complaining about Castle stealing his chair.

While his two friends were arguing, Javier smiled to himself. They really should tell them soon- although Castle's approach had taken him totally by surprise it had felt nice sharing the good news.


	5. Earth

Bonjour mes amis!

Here's chapter 5. I know they keep getting shorter every time I post something but there will be longer ones again I promise ;)

However, thanks for the reviews, they usually make my day a tad better!

Read, review and enjoy, please!

* * *

**Earth**

Kate was watching her best friend Lanie closely.

She was starring off into space, one hand playing around with her wedding ring the other was lying limply on top of the autopsy report she should be discussion with the detective and her shadow.

Kate knew Lanie was probably totally off with the fairies; it had started as soon as she and Javier had announced that they were expecting a child and it became worse when they spontaneously decided to marry.

Not that it was a bad thing that Lanie was so happy and could barely concentrate on what was happening right before her nose but sometimes Kate really didn't get it.

In moments like this, for example.

Kate was snapping her fingers in front of her best friends face in order to get her attention but said friend didn't react.

"Um…Hello? Helloho! Earth to Lanie?" Kate tried, now waving her hand furiously to the ME's face.

Lanie snapped out of her trance and looked at her friend, an air of confusion mixed with embarrassment on her face.

"Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me lately" she apologized quickly, returning to discussing the autopsy report.

On the other hand, who could blame her? Kate and Castle had come down for the report but half through it they started bickering and Lanie lost track of what was going on, drifting into her own world…

* * *

Castle was occupied with pulling Beckett's pigtails but he noticed how Lanie seemed to drift off. The distinct smile on her face told him enough to know that she was thinking about the future. And she looked genuinely happy.

Replying to Beckett's snappy question that yes, he was well aware, that they were currently discussing a human being and not a piece of meat he successfully fought the smile that was forming on his lips.

Seeing how happy both Lanie and Esposito were, he always wondered if Meredith had been so happy when she was pregnant with Alexis.

Somewhere deep down Castle knew that at least he had been overjoyed with the prospect of Alexis being on her way but he also knew that Meredith wasn't half as happy as he was and certainly not as happy as Lanie.

And as much as he liked seeing his friends so happy, a tiny part of him was jealous.

* * *

"Helloho? Earth to Castle?" this time it was him who snapped out of his trance, the grinning ME looking amused at him.

'What?" he asked confused.

"Beckett is already on the way out, you know?"

Castle turned around to see if she was right and there really was no Kate in the morgue anymore, just the still swinging doors.

"You better pay attention next time, writer boy" Lanie yelled after him with a laugh when he hurried out of the morgue.

When he reached the door he turned around with a smile on his face.

"I know what's gotten into you, you know?" he said.

Lanie raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

Castle nodded.

"It's called uncontrollable, overwhelming happiness" he said and with two steps he was out of the morgue.

Good to know she wasn't the only one who had to be reminded of good ol' earth from time to time, she thought with a smirk.


End file.
